Holiday Conversations Back Home re Obama and Black Folk

*special hat tip to the FreshXPress for featuring our article on their front page*

One of the best parts about going back home for the holiday season is, of course, catching up with old friends and family who you haven't seen in ages.  And in turn, one of the most interesting parts about catching up with all these people are the conversations that take place; "what have you been up to lately?", "how's the job/job search going?", "how's the wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend and the kids/dog/cat, etc.?"   And then of course once those pleasantries are established, invariably somebody will kick if off with "can you believe [insert current event here]" and that will then of course lead to a conversation about President Obama.

This question produces different results in different communities. Perhaps nowhere does this question produce a more polarizing response than in the Black Community.  Don't get me wrong, there's still an overwhelming sense of support and admiration from the Black Community for Obama at the end of the day.  While the national approval numbers for Obama hover around 50% give or take a few points, the approval numbers for Obama in the Black Community remain around 91%. But that number doesn't tell the whole story, because despite White concerns that Obama has catered too much to minorities and women, there are a number of Blacks among that 91% who feel that Obama has not done enough - or anything according to some - for the Black Community. It's with this later group where I take issue.

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Merry Christmas from The Urban Politico

Domestic Monitoring: The Beginning of the End?

By now I'm sure everyone has heard about the new domestic monitoring program that has recently came about as a result of the terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. Nine years later the government has assembled an extremely vast domestic intelligence program to monitor and collect information about everyday Americans. Even everyday Americans, who have never been accused of a crime. This system is being called the largest and most technologically sophisticated in American history.

Made up of FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators, the goal of the program is to essentially filter all city, state and federal information regarding potential terrorists straight to Washington. By adopting many of the military tactics currently being utilized in Afghanistan and Iraq, the program will essentially fuel the FBI's counter terrorism program and ensure that each ship (city, state, fed) is sailing in the same direction. This will eventually close the gap of communication between agencies, basically making sure that nothing goes down without Washington knowing about it. And like most situations when the manifestations of how much of our freedom is slowly being ripped away, surfaces to show it's Dubya looking face, we remember that it is being done for our safety.

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DADT Repealed After 17 Years This Wednesday (VIDEO)

17 years after DADT was enacted by Democratic President Bill Clinton, Democratic President Barack Obama will add its repeal to his list of accomplishments.  The House voted in favor of the Repeal on December 15th with a vote of 250 to 175, and the Senate followed suit this past Saturday, December 18th with a vote of 65 to 31. Every Republican voted against it except for 8, 1 of which, interestingly enough, was newly elected Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts who as you might recall was hastily voted in by a bunch of conservatives in Massachusetts who were so concerned about voting down Health Care that they didn't really stop to check Brown's conservative credentials.  This cat has voted with the Democrats on more than one occassion on big issues in the Senate.  Good job, conservatives. Way to think long-term.

At any rate, the White House has announced that on Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 9:15 a.m., President Obama will sign the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 into law in a signing ceremony at the Department of the Interior. See video after the jump:

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Ricky Gervais: "Why do YOU believe in God?" A Holiday Message????

Ricky Gervais is a comedian from England.  The largest part of his fame and notoriety is due to his hit show "The Office."  He is also an atheist.  He speaks openly about not believing in God, and if you've seen his stand up show, or his movie "The Invention of Lying" then you pretty much know his perspective.  Today, he wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal about why he doesn't believe in God.  I know we can have some very good discussions here, so I was curious to read the reaction, if any.

So, take a moment, read his piece and let me know your opinion.  While he does make some generalizations and comparisons infused with humor, he makes points that I've heard other atheists make.  After the jump, let me know your opinion.

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It's a Wrap - Congress Passes Tax Cuts

The more I think about this thing the more I wonder if this was the right move or not.  I'm conflicted.  On the one hand it keeps the cash flowing to the people during a recession, whether they are rich people or poor people.  On the other hand, it will continue to put us further into debt.  But what I'm really trying to figure out is why the group that has jumped up and down and thrown a fit about anything that that so much as adds one penny onto the deficit is now the very same group that is adding a a couple trillion pennies onto the very same deficit.  From NBC News:

Acting with uncommon speed, Congress sent President Barack Obama sweeping, bipartisan legislation late Thursday night to avoid a Jan. 1 spike in income taxes for millions and renew jobless benefits for victims of the worst recession in 80 years.
The measure also will cut Social Security taxes for nearly every wage-earner and pump billions of dollars into the still-sluggish economy.
The 277-148 vote came the day after the Senate cleared the bill, 81-19.

So we'll fight you if you dare to spend money on unemployed people during a recession, but if we can give some tax cuts to millionaires everything is peachy?  I don't get it.

You Play Ball Like a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!! Boehner Cries...Again

I mean what's with this guy?  He's crying more than Tammy Faye Baker.  This is the leadership of the Republican party?  I find this amusingly ironic that the party that berates and calls into question Obama's fortitude to be a tough leader has this guy as it's poster child.  Say what you will about Obama but at least he's not buckling under the enormous pressure of the Presidency and crying every night on national television.  Obama's grandmother, who had practically raised him since birth, died just before she could see him win the Presidency of the United States and the most that happened was Obama shed a tear while he maintained his focus and kept his eye on the prize.  Boehner, on the other hand, cries every time he recalls a story where he pulled himself up by his own bootstraps.  From the Washington Post:

To those who have followed Boehner (R-Ohio), it was standard operating procedure: The 60-year-old's proclivity for showing his emotions is legendary. He's cried during retirement speeches by other lawmakers. He's cried during victory speeches. He's cried while eulogizing close friends. He's cried at gala dinners, and he's cried in closed meetings. 

Don't get me wrong, there are times to cry, just like there are times to laugh, but it seems that every other political leader is able to do this job without crying every 5 minutes.  Could you imagine how many sexist comments would have been thrown at Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi if they had cried HALF as much as this guy?  Their entire fitness for leadership would have been immediately questioned and they would have been ridiculed straight out of politics in under 60 seconds flat.  But this guy gets to make a rep on boo-hoo'ing everytime they put him on stage.

Somebody get him a kleenex.

Blocking Judges? Really? What happened to "Country First?"

I had an interview with the US Department of Treasury for an attorney advisory position a while back.  During the interview, which apparently went pretty well based on the feedback I got afterwords, the interviewer took off his glasses, put his pen down, and said: "look, I'm just gonna level with you...you've got the right credentials for the job but we can't bring you or anybody else in for this position because the supervisors for this position don't even exist yet.  We're still waiting on Congressional approval."  After that interview I kept a tab on Congressional approvals for federal government positions and, much to my dismay, I saw Republicans time and time again drag their feet on positions that they knew were uncontroversial and that should have been approved.  Yet, every time it looked like they were going to get around to approving the positions in the department I was applying for, invariably they would come up with another reason for delay.  That was about 2 years ago.  Needless to say I never got the job.  So to say that I'm just a little bit sick of this crap is the understatement of the decade.  I don't know which is worse, the fact that Republicans have obstructed these and many other Obama appointments in the federal government or that its so common that we're not even shocked to discover that it is still happening anymore.

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NO LABELS: Not Left. Not Right. Forward

If what they say is true, that necessity is the mother of invention, then NO LABELS is the offspring of today’s hyper-partisan politics. With the growing popularity of “extreme” media (FOXNews, MSNBC, Limbaugh, etc.), the systematic removal of moderates from the public arena and the rise of extremely vocal and divisive partisan groups like MoveOn and the Tea Party, the “necessity” has never been greater.

From the Washington Post:

A coalition of Democrats, Republicans and independents came together at Columbia University on Monday to launch a group aimed at taming the nation’s hyperpartisan politics.


No Labels is not a third party, its leaders said, but rather a home for Americans turned off by deepening divide between Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals.

On Monday, December 13, the group had is kickoff event, with speakers including, Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Antonio Villaraigosa, Senators Bayh and Lieberman, and Governor Charlie Crist just to name a few.

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Our Guest Post at The Intersection of Madness & Reality

We have a Guest Post up today entitled "Republican Swagger" on our boy Rippa's blog, The Intersection of Madness & Reality.  Check it out HERE and drop your 2 cents.

Weekend Recap

1. So by now you've likely heard that Bernie Sanders has staged a good old fashioned Filibuster in the Senate against the Obama-GOP Tax Deal.  Although the GOP has been threatening to Filibuster for the past 2 years on everything Obama has proposed, but Sen. Sanders actually conducted the first real live Filibuster in the Senate since 1992.  He spoke for 9 hours straight.

2. The Dream Act that was passed by the House last week is stalled in the Senate while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) attempts to round up the votes necessary to pass it.

3. Bernie Madoff's son, Mark Madoff, was found dead in his SoHo apartment in New York City on Saturday after an apparent suicide.  His death occurred on the second anniversary of his dad's arrest for the biggest ponzie scheme in recent history.

4. Republicans vote down a bill that would have funded medical aid to 9/11 Responders.

Guest Post: The Blame Game: The White House vs. House Democrats

Today's guest post comes from none other than Big Brother All-My-Tee himself, Rippa, who blogs at The Intersection of Madness & Reality.   Rippa's known around the blogosphere for stirring up a good debate so drop your 2 cents in the comments below as we discuss the latest debacle between the White House and the Democrats:

***

So now everyone has taken lead from Obama's recent press conference chastisement of his fellow republi... oops, I mean democrats, liberals, and or progressives alike. Yes, we have moved into "let's blame the democrats" mode. Uh-huh, even the White House today is in on that act. Yep, like a guy who has just cheated on his wife with her sister, the White House is now absconding responsibility and blaming his penis...

"My penis has a mind of it's own, baby... I love you, but it ain't my fault. As a matter of fact, it's partly your momma and daddy's fault! They shoulda known better than to make two of you with a nice fat booty and big titties!"

My man Kriss from The Insanity Report has a post up over at theFreshXpress which makes a good case for pointing fingers at House democrats for Obama's compromise with republicans. But I'm sorry, I just can't buy the excuse for Obama's "compromise" much like many people are; to me, there's no acceptable justification. But hey, like Obama, I'm "itching for a fight" about this in the comment section below - take ya best shot, you just might convince me.

Will the extension of these tax cuts create jobs as being sold by the administration and the Republicans? NO! Is it morally corrupt to borrow $900 billion under the guise of “stimulating the economy” when only 2% of the wealthy own small businesses (which are the engine of the economy) while people making $40K and less will see a tax hike? YES!! Oh yeah, individuals earning less than $20K and families making less that $40K will see a tax hike under this proposal, while the wealthy will, well, get even richer at the expense of tax payers.

I'm sorry, but I think Barack Obama should own his sh*t; and the people defending his compromise should realize the error of their actions. I mean, this is in fact the same black president who stood up in a black church on Father's day and preached responsibility to black men and the black community at large while pandering to other members of the then electorate, no? Yeah, that damn "R-Word" can be a bitch at times; I know, I hate it as much as you do.

But anyway, I won't even waste your time talking about Paul Krugman's piece explaining how the economic ramifications of this deal could seriously affect Obama's re-election chances in 2012. I mean who wants to talk about boring shit like the economy or another hostage situation December, 2011. Instead, I'm gonna end by asking: Should Barack Obama fail to get re-elected to a second term, who exactly do we blame?

The Urban Beat: Politics, Pickets, and Prison

1. The controversial Rev. Fred Phelps and his church have plans to picket the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards with signs that say "God Hates Elizabeth Edwards.  Phelps has made the news several times in the past.  Most recently, his church picketed the funerals of dead solders returning from war because they felt the solder's death was punishment from God for America's tolerance for homosexuality and abortion.  Rev Phelps' church was sued by the family of a deceased Marine.  Yet another question before the court on the limits of the First Amendment.

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The Return of the King: Michael Jackson's New Album "Michael"

Michael Jackson has returned and is speaking from the grave through his new album, Michael. The album is scheduled to be released on Monday, but you can listen to it now at Michaeljackson.com. So why is this a big deal? Well aside from the fact that Michael Jackson is the greatest performer to ever walk the earth, the album is actually really good, particularly compared to MJ's last couple albums. A compilation of previously unreleased studio recordings, the album Michael is classic MJ, with somewhat of an urban twist. MJ was always very meticulous about who he collaborated with during his career, but there are some great guest appearances on this album.

One way that urban twist has manifested itself is through none other than rapper 50 Cent. His guest appearance on the album, with the song Monster and Akon's guest appearance on the song Hold My Hand, gave the work a nice modern hip-hop feel. I'll be the first to admit how much of a 50 Cent fan I am NOT, but the song Monster is definitely my favorite track on the album. This album is classic MJ at his best, from the beats, to the riffs to the lyrics, MJ takes us on one last ride through his tormented, genius mind and shares with us the gift that is spawned from this fusion.

After listening to the album twice so far, the conclusion is that this album is a must have for any MJ fans out there who were affected by his tragic death. Many of us have been waiting years to here new material from MJ and now that content is here. The album solidifies his reign as the King of Pop, who was never dethroned. This is the return of the king.

Listen to the new Michael Jackson album here.

DREAM Act Passes in the House - 216 to 198

Wednesday night the House put the DREAM Act to give approximately 850,000 students who were brought here at a young age a path to citizenship.  The Bill passed 216 yeas to 198 Nays; 8 Republicans voted FOR the Bill, while 38 Democrats voted AGAINST it.  The Bill now goes to the Senate where it is expected to face heavy opposition from the 42 Republican Senators there.

Obama's Press Conference on the Tax Cuts (VIDEO)

Obama held a press conference yesterday to explain the decision to extend the Bush Tax cuts and to explain just how the hell we got here.  He breaks down the conflict between his desired plan, which was to help the unemployed and middle-class through tax breaks and unemployment benefits, vs. the Republican plan, which was to give tax breaks to the wealthiest 2% and the infamous "trickle-down" economic theory.

After you listen to the intro, jump ahead to a few seconds before the 28:00 minute mark and play to the end from there.  Does he finally get the narrative right here or is this too little too late?

Check out the video after the jump:

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The Collapse of a Nation?

History has shown us that every great civilization has collapsed.  Why do we think America would be any different?  There was a time when I convinced myself that it was impossible do to the global economy.  Meaning that the existence of America was financially beneficial to many people throughout the world, as such, they wouldn't let it collapse.  With the recent economic woes, I'm not as confident. 

Normally I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I do believe that those that shrug EVERYTHING off as mere conspiracy, leave themselves open and unprepared to all types of potentially harmful future events.  If we are honest with ourselves, the conspiracy is really only in the timing since all major religions and science say the end is coming... eventually.

Civilizations collapse for any number of reasons; from economic downfall and WAR, to disease , political turmoil, as strong as America is today, we may not be immune.  History has shown us the even the most powerful empires like Roman Empire or the Han Dynasty aren't immune.  Soviet Union anyone? 

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TheUrbanPolitico.com Bowl (why not?)

See how I did that... I made up our OWN bowl.  I figure if the State of New Mexico or Beef O' Brady could make one up... why couldn't we?

 For those DIE HARD college football fanatics, who scream that a playoff system would "hurt the bowl" system... *clearing throat* 

STFU!!!!!

Please excuse my language. 

This is my Love/Hate time of year.  I LOVE football season, I love the both the college and pros (not to mention the further back they push everything, eventually there will be a seamless transition from BCS to March Madness!)  What I HATE is the BCS.  Don't get me wrong, it is MUCH better than what we had before... but not by much.  Now, instead of pulling the National Champion out of a hat, they simply pull the two teams who will be PLAYING for the National Championship out of a hat. 

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The Last Stand over the Bush Tax Cuts ***UPDATE***

I hated Econ in college. It was one of those classes where the professor took a subject that was already complicated and made it into mission impossible.  So I won't make the same mistake of boring you with mathematical formulas and what have you.  Let's keep this thing as simple as possible, cool?  Alright then.  We all know that there's basically one way our federal government makes money: taxes.  What we may not realize is that there are actually 2 ways that our federal government can "spend" money:  (i) by funding programs; and (ii) by giving tax cuts.  That last one may seem kind of counter-intuitive because we don't really think of a government "tax cut" as government "spending."  But look at it this way: the government is entitled, by law, to tax X amount of dollars from the American people each year.  This number (X) becomes known as the annual federal budget.  Let's say for the sake of argument, that the annual federal budget is 100 bucks a year (a Republican's dream, right?).  The federal government is then entitled to tax 100 bucks a year from the American people, so when it gives up this right to tax the American people by, say, $10 bucks for example, it has the same effect as if the government had actually spent the $10 bucks on a program.  Either way, that $10 bucks is gone from the annual budget.  Either way, regardless of whether we chose to literally spend the $10 dollars or give a tax cut in the amount of $10, our annual budget goes from $100 bucks/yr to $90 bucks/yr.  Make sense?  Alright.  If you can understand this basic concept then you are a helluva lot smarter than a lot of our elected officials in Washington right now who do not seem to be able to make the connection that keeping the Bush Tax Cuts will actually cost us money. (to continue our example, a Bush sized Tax cut would take our $100/yr budget down to about $50/yr) 

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So That's How It's Gonna Be, Tim Scott?

32 Black Republicans ran for Congress this year, and of those 32 only 2, Tim Scott and Allen West, were elected this past November during the midterm election.  Traditionally, the Black members of Congress have recognized the value of working together and thus formed the Congressional Black Caucus ("CBC").  It's pretty much a given that if you are Black and you are in Congress (House or Senate) then you are a part of the CBC...until now.  Drawing a distinct line in the sand, Scott made it clear that he will not be joining the CBC.  Per Politico:

"While I recognize the efforts of the CBC and appreciate their invitation for me to caucus with them, I will not be joining at this time. My campaign was never about race," Scott said in a Wednesday evening statement.

More from his release:

"My campaign has been about themes that unite all Americans--restoring the American dream by reducing the tax burden, decreasing government interference in the private sector, and restoring fiscal responsibility, and I don't think those ideals are advanced by focusing on one group of people. I believe that by promoting our conservative values we will grow the economy, which will make everything else possible. The black community, like all communities, will benefit when businesses can use their profits to hire more workers instead of paying higher taxes; when companies decide to locate in America instead of overseas; and when our government no longer saddles our children's futures with ever-increasing debt. I therefore plan to dedicate my time and energy in Congress to working on these areas."

On the other hand, Florida Rep.-elect Allen West said right after the election he plans to join the CBC, becoming the first GOP member since 1996.

So I guess this means we won't be seeing Scott during CBC weekend next year.  But seriously though, why does "reducing the tax burden" or "restoring fiscal responsibility" mean you can't link up with the CBC?  Are you saying that the two are mutually exclusive? Look, (A) - you are Black; (B) - 20% of your constituents in South Carolina are as well and need somebody to speak to their issues; and (C) EVERY OTHER BLACK MEMBER OF CONGRESS - Republican or Democrat - has joined the CBC.  Why?  Because there's strength in numbers.  And if the argument is that the CBC won't vote for the things that you would like to vote for, then get in and make the persuasive argument on why it should! But don't just cop out without even trying.  Besides, there are hardly enough of us in Congress that we can afford to start turning our back on our own people under the pretext of "tax burdens." 


Is Scott making the courageous move into a Post-Racial America or is this brother just lost?
Does Scott's reasoning for not joining the CBC hold water after his fellow Black Republican, West, stated he will be joining the CBC (just as fellow Black Republican JC Watts did before him)?
Do we have to shed our Blackness in order to tackle tax burdens and fiscal responsibility and other core Republican issues?

A Final Word on Sarah Palin

[hat tip to FreshxPress for featuring our post]

There's a well-known mantra in the blogosphere that every website administrator has come to appreciate over the years: "Don't Feed the Troll."  You see, a Troll, per the Urban Dictionary, is "[o]ne who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument."  The rule is, when you spot a Troll on your website, you do not, under any circunstances, dignify their comments with a response because, if you do, it will only "feed" their appetite for disruption.  A Troll is not in it for dialogue; they're only in it for aggravation. Namely yours.  Despite the media's recalcitrant insistence on reserving a seat for the former half-term governor (hereinafter "FHTG") at the table of our national political discourse, Sarah Palin is a Troll.  As such, I try not to dignify anything she says or does.  Ever.  (that would be "feeding" the Troll)  However, in light of the fact that Hell hath frozen over (see Republican Joe Scarborough PWN!!! Palin in his latest Poltico article) I'll make an exception just this once and then I will likely never do a post about FHTG Palin ever again unless she actually runs for President in 2012.  So listen up 'cause I'm only gonna say this once.

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